Soon, the sound of water boiling filled the room, and steam began to rise from the kettle.
Taking that as a signal, the brief conversation came to an end.
After preparing the tea and returning to the parlor, I saw Master playing with Amy.
Amy, who was sitting on Master’s lap, was gazing up with sparkling eyes as she fiddled with Master’s hair.
Even though Amy had been shy around me for a long time, it seemed she had completely fallen for Master’s beautiful, golden hair.
Master wore an expression full of annoyance, but still lowered his head so Amy could touch his hair.
Master’s neatly arranged hair was gradually getting messy under Amy’s small hands.
A warm cocoa was set before Amy, while the rest of us gathered around in the parlor.
Master was the first to speak.
“How long have you been here?”
“About two weeks….”
“Hiding in a place like this, no wonder no one found you….”
Master clicked his tongue in a low voice.
“Why is it so quiet here? Where’s the other guardian?”
“It’s just Master and me living here.”
Master paused.
He didn’t say anything else, but it seemed he understood the situation right away.
Leaving Master to quietly scan the silent house again, I cautiously spoke to Enoch.
“Enoch, would it be alright if I visited from time to time?”
“Of course. Master would definitely welcome you too. Isn’t that right?”
“Mhm… I wish Didi could come every day….”
While listening to our conversation, Master took a sip of tea and spoke.
“Sorry, but I’m too busy to come often.”
“I could come by myself….”
“That’s even more out of the question.”
His tone was firm.
I held my teacup with both hands and lowered my head, feeling dejected.
Watching me, Enoch chuckled softly.
“Still, it’s good to see you two getting along so well.”
“Huh?”
I tilted my head with a puzzled expression, and I could feel Enoch’s gaze slowly shifting to my neck.
Suddenly, I remembered how, before coming into the house, Master had bitten the back of my neck.
With how hard he bit, it was sure to have left a mark.
“No, this isn’t…!”
I hurriedly covered my neck with my hand.
I wanted to explain that it wasn’t what he thought, but no excuse came to mind.
I glanced over and saw Master’s lips curl up ever so slightly.
I looked at Master with an aggrieved expression.
It was then that Amy, who had been quietly watching the lively scene from one side, dropped a bombshell.
“Can’t Enoch and Didi get married?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Amy.
I almost spit out my tea, but managed to swallow it down, coughing as Master was the first to react.
“What?”
Master’s eyebrows twitched, and his face instantly hardened.
I quickly grabbed Master’s arm, and his very displeased gaze turned to me.
I was relieved that Amy didn’t see this.
If Master’s sharp gaze had turned to her, Amy would have definitely gotten scared and burst into tears.
Enoch, too, smiled awkwardly as he tried to soothe Amy.
“Master. Didi is troubled by that.”
“But… if they got married, they could be together every day….”
Amy pouted her lips.
Living alone with Enoch in such a big house, Amy must have liked this lively atmosphere.
“I’m sorry, I think she’s remembering the fairy tale I read to her yesterday.”
“It’s alright.”
Enoch looked at me apologetically, and I shook my head with a smile.
I didn’t know which fairy tale it was, but I could guess.
Wasn’t there always a line at the end, something like, ‘And so the two of them got married and lived happily ever after’?
Master lifted the corner of his mouth in a crooked smile and said to Amy,
“Sorry, but I can’t give you Didi. I’m going to keep him with me for the rest of my life.”
“Really…?”
Amy hung her head with a noticeably disappointed face.
Watching her drooping shoulders, I could only give an awkward smile.
Just then, Master’s smartphone vibrated.
It seemed to be an important call, as Master checked the caller and stepped out for a moment.
As I watched Master walk away, talking on the phone, Enoch spoke to me.
“Didi, you’re always welcome here. If you ever have anything on your mind, you can come talk to us.”
I nodded.
We were both Humanbots, so we could deeply empathize with each other’s positions.
Since Enoch had reached out to me first when I was wandering the streets, his words felt even warmer.
A little while later, Master finished the call and returned to the parlour.
“Didi, something’s come up at the company. I have to go.”
“Yes, Master.”
I nodded and started to rise to follow Master, but stopped.
A small hand beside me had gently grabbed the hem of my pants.
“You’re leaving already…?”
Her voice was full of reluctance to say goodbye.
I, too, was reluctant to leave so soon, and found it hard to take a step.
“Master, can I wait here?”
“No.”
I asked cautiously for permission, but Master shook his head without hesitation.
Feeling sorry, I looked down at Amy, whose eyes quickly filled with tears.
Leaving us behind, Master took out a business card and handed it to Enoch.
“I said I wouldn’t take any reward, but if you need anything, contact this number. Tell my secretary and they’ll help you right away.”
After a brief farewell, we left the mansion.
I watched the house grow smaller in the rearview mirror and asked,
“Master, what’s going on at the company?”
“They need my final approval for a new product.”
“Are we going right now?”
“No. We’ll stop by home and take Eve with us.”
A sudden mention of Eve’s name from Master made me ask in confusion.
“Why Eve?”
“The new product is going to be a robot dog just like Eve. Thomas asked me to bring her so he could study her movement patterns.”
It was surprising that they’d decided to release a robot dog instead of the originally planned humanoid.
I could feel that Master had changed a lot while I was away.
I remembered how he used to insist that there was no way he would ever release a robot dog product….
Yes, maybe Master really had changed.
It was just scary for me to accept that fact.
“Welcome home, William, Didi.”
When we arrived home, Sophia greeted us in her familiar voice.
Next to her, Eve sat quietly, wagging her tail.
It seemed Master planned to leave right away with Eve, as he didn’t come inside, but called out to her from the entrance.
“Eve, come here.”
But Eve didn’t budge.
Instead, she just stared at me, as if she wanted to follow me into the house.
“Eve.”
Master called her again, his tone a bit sharper, but Eve still didn’t move.
Caught in the invisible tension, I glanced between them and finally spoke.
“I’ll go too.”
“Are you sure?”
“I don’t think Eve will go without me.”
“…Alright.”
Master seemed to agree, letting out a sigh and nodding.
I turned and stepped back outside.
When I called her, Eve quietly followed me this time.
As I watched Sophia, left alone to see us off at the door, a thought crossed my mind.
Wouldn’t it be lonely to just wait for someone to come home in an empty house?
Come to think of it, I’d never seen Sophia leave the house—she always just saw us off.
I stopped at the entrance and turned around.
Master asked,
“Is something wrong?”
“I was just wondering if Sophia gets lonely, staying home by herself….!”
“That won’t happen, so don’t worry.”
Master was right.
Sophia wasn’t a Robot that could feel emotions.
But as he watched me still glancing back at her, Master spoke abruptly.
“If it really bothers you, we can all go to the park together next time.”
He probably said it offhandedly, but my ears perked up.
Now that Eve could move around freely, she’d be able to run to her heart’s content in a big park.
Just imagining all of us together there sounded fun.
When I opened the back door, Eve hopped into the car on her own.
I suddenly recalled the little commotion that happened long ago when Master first tried to get Eve into the car.
I found myself missing those warm, lively days.
Wearing a faint smile, I quietly got into the car.